


Not the One

by Unfeathered



Series: Lorneverse [2]
Category: Angel: the Series, Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Crossover, Ficlet, Gen, Karaoke, POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-11-06
Updated: 2007-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:09:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23650603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unfeathered/pseuds/Unfeathered
Summary: The Doctor's back visiting Lorne for advice again…
Relationships: Tenth Doctor & Lorne
Series: Lorneverse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1585156
Kudos: 2





	Not the One

**Author's Note:**

> [morgynleri_fic](https://morgynleri_fic.livejournal.com/) requested _Save Me From the Monsters, after the year that wasn't_ for the [Timestamp Meme](http://unfeathered.livejournal.com/42607.html)
> 
> Set after _Not Fade Away_ and after Season Three of _Doctor Who_ \- very slightly AU in that it looks like the Doctor wouldn't actually have time to go and visit Lorne between the end of _Last of the Time Lords_ and _Voyage of the Damned_
> 
> Originally posted [here](https://unfeathered.livejournal.com/44499.html) on 6 November 2007

The final chords of _You're Still The One_ fade away and you slide off the stool and put down the microphone with relief. "Come on over!" calls Lorne from a table at the back, and you wince at the pun and wind your way across the club with a tiny shiver of déjà vu.

"Well, hey there, long and sweeping!" Lorne chuckles, as you sit down. "Didn't expect to see you again so soon!"

"'S been longer for me than it has for you," you reply, eyeing the cocktail Lorne ordered for you. It's green. You wonder what's in it.

"Oh, I'm getting that," Lorne nods. "Not just the time-travelling; there's something about time rewinding too…" You tense up despite yourself, and Lorne continues smoothly, "So what can I do for you this time?"

"Aren't you supposed to be telling _me_ that?"

Lorne laughs, but it sounds forced. There's a hollow look in his eyes that you suspect is reflected in your own. Or reflected from your own, because it's your head Lorne's just been looking into. Lorne sighs and leans back a little. "All right, cupcake. Let's start with the song – oh, and I _like_ the voice you've got with this body, by the way! Anyway, yeah, that song – oh, nothing wrong with a bit of Shania, sweetie, just… You don't even know which one of them you're singing about, do you? The one who's been there your whole life, not always with you but always coming back to you, as you always come back to him – only he's gone. Or the one who really _will_ always be there – _always_ – and looking just as handsome as ever, may I add! – but who you feel you don't deserve."

Lorne's red eyes seem to be burning into your very soul. You sit very still, barely breathing, afraid to ask, afraid of the answer. But you have to know. "So what do I do?" you whisper, and it's the voice of a little boy hiding under the bedclothes.

Lorne raises an eyebrow. "That's up to you, pumpkin. That always has been and always will be up to you."

"But I – " It slips out before you realise you're going to let it. "Is he really gone? Truly and forever? 'Cos I… sometimes I think I can _feel_ him…"

You never imagined a green-skinned, red-horned demon could look this scary. "Do you really want him back? Really?"

Your mouth has gone dry. You try to swallow, and find you can't.

"Have a drink," Lorne offers, nodding at the green cocktail. Reluctantly, you pick up the glass and take a sip, because there's no way you're ever going to be able to speak again if you don't. It tastes nice, sort of minty. You drink some more, because actually you don't want to answer that question and if you're still drinking, you don't have to.

Lorne look at you, and his face is sad. "It doesn't matter what you want anyway," he says, with a wry little smile. "He's not really gone. He's never really gone. He'll be back."

You feel like you've been frozen and hit with a sledgehammer, and shattered into a trillion tiny pieces. "W-what?" you stammer, from lips that have gone suddenly stiff.

"Don't worry, though," Lorne says, and his voice seems to be coming from a long way away. "You won't remember this. Go back to Jack, Doctor. Go back to your faithful Jack and let the man who calls himself the Master be forgotten. He's still out there somewhere. But he's not the one. Of course, it's still up to you. But he's really not the one you should be with."


End file.
